NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Metamorphic Ventures (www.metamorphic.vc) the New York-based early stage venture capital firm has announced its premier virtual reality investment in real estate technology IrisVR. The result of a rigorous competition focused entirely on virtual reality, this investment marks one of the first in this vertical for New York venture capital community.

"While Virtual reality is still in its early days we are excited about the obvious implications to the future of story-telling and gaming," says David Hirsch, founder and General Partner at Metamorphic Ventures. "VR is no longer an intangible concept endemic to the west coast. We are thrilled to help pioneer virtual reality as a utility in New York, bringing it to the living room and conference room; and with what better vertical than real estate."

"As someone who started dabbling in VR while it was in its infancy, I'm excited to see such a strong community form around this technology," says Shane Scranton, founder of IrisVR. "Events like Metamorphic's Startup Challenge will solidify VR's place in both professional and consumer markets, and it will help pioneering VR startups get a bit more recognition and raise capital. Nate and I were honored to be a part of this challenge."

Executives from BTIG, Tribeca Film Institute and Company 3 productions (Co3) joined Metamorphic Ventures to judge the competition's participants:

• IrisVR, which transforms 3D models into an immersive VR experience
• MureVR, which offers a virtual reality workplace environment for the Oculus Rift VR glasses.
• VRChat, which adds a multiplayer chat component to any 3D space

IrisVR was offered a generous prize from Metamorphic Ventures, and are in talks about a prolonged partnership.

About Metamorphic Ventures

Metamorphic Ventures is a New York City based venture capital firm that invests in start-up and early stage technology companies. We focus on investing in great entrepreneurs building game-changing companies in massive markets, whether that be in categories like marketplaces, e-commerce, payments, web services, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, or even new categories that haven't been discovered yet. For more information on Metamorphic Ventures, please visit: www.metamorphic.vc